Warning! Major spoilers ahead for the Season 5 premiere of Blindspot.
The Season 5 premiere of Blindspot kicked things off with a major death that will shake up the rest of the season. It was shocking, to say the least. After Madeline Burke leveled the FBI team’s safe house with a drone strike, everyone miraculously survived. Everyone except for Reade, that is. Following that game-changing death, Blindspot star Rob Brown reacted to his character getting killed off so early on in Season 5.
Reade and Zapata had only just gotten back together, so when Reade saw that she was trapped underneath some of the debris, he made the quick decision to shift his weight to get her out. However, that one move proved fatal and he was crushed. And so, the Season 5 premiere ended with a surprising fatality that will forever change the FBI team moving forward. Speaking with ET, Rob Brown revealed his feelings about Reade’s death. Here’s what he said:
That's kind of the way that TV is going, that anyone can get it, which is great. And the thing for me was, Reade was straight, he really was. As a character, he never wavered, which I always appreciated. He lost his way in the past a couple of times and he struggled with his own demons, but he was always straight as an arrow. It made sense that he would be the one to go down because either you have to break down after being so solid or you gotta go, I think.
That’s definitely a positive way to react to the news of your character’s death. Rob Brown always figured that Reade would kick the bucket and could’ve died “at any point” in the last few seasons. And, hey, at least Reade made it to Blindspot’s final season!
In the end, Rob Brown could rest easy knowing that Reade went out like a hero and sacrificed himself for the woman he loved. Here’s how he put it:
It wasn't even his decision, like, there's no question that's what he would do. Here's the thing: Reade would do that for anybody on that team, right? Of course, he would do it a little quicker for Zapata, absolutely. That's his best friend, the person he confides in the most, the person he's in love with, so even though he would do it for everyone, it was extra sweet that he went down for a good reason, and he went down for the ultimate reason -- to save his best confidante, his best friend and his lover's life. That's the way to go out. He has no problem with that. Personally, for me, as a fan of the show and as an artist, if you're going to go out, man... and I just saw it -- if that's how I'd get taken out, then I'm cool.
Blindspot showrunner Martin Gero revealed that there were “some business reasons” for why one of the leads had to get the ax and that the writers ultimately came to the decision that it was Reade who would die because it made sense creatively. But, if fans think they've seen the last of him, fear not, because Rob Brown and Gero revealed that Reade will be back. He's still dead, of course, but viewers will get to see him again before the end of Season 5. However, how that will happen is anyone's guess at this point.
Blindspot Season 5 airs every Thursday at 9:00 p.m. ET on NBC. For more on what to watch, be sure to check in with our 2020 summer TV premiere guide.
